


Dream Catcher

by bitchaotic



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Fluff, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, Nightmares, No Plot/Plotless, One Shot, Past Relationship(s), Sleeping Together, just fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-17
Updated: 2016-06-17
Packaged: 2018-07-15 14:13:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7225582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitchaotic/pseuds/bitchaotic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek likes to sleep with Spencer because he keeps away the nightmares.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dream Catcher

The thing Savannah hated the most was that Derek was unreliable. The thing that Derek hated the most was that Savannah didn't understand how demanding and important his job was. She'd get angry if he missed dinner, even though he'd miss it because he was saving the lives of innocent people. She'd get pissed off if he was upset about not getting there in time to save someone. If he didn't want to talk because he was too heartbroken over a case, she'd get offended and tell him to sleep on the couch. His job was hard, but she didn't understand. 

It was too late for them to go home. The case took too long, so they decided to wait until the next afternoon to head back to Quantico. They stayed at the same hotel as they had the night before, all of them relieved to not have to fly back so late. Usually they'd have their own rooms, but the hotel was busy and didn't have enough for each of them. Hotch and Rossi both got their own rooms. Reid and Morgan had to share a room, as did Prentiss and JJ. No one really minded, though. JJ was so tired that she was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Reid and Morgan, on the other hand, were too troubled to sleep.

The case had gone south real quick. Some sick freak kidnapped kids and just watched them waste away in his cellar. He got off on watching them beg for help. The guy got a heads up from a friend that was questioned. By the time they got there, the little girl, only six years old, had a bullet through her head. He planned on getting rid of the evidence, so they wouldn't be able to catch him. He was too late; they caught him as he was stuffing her body into a suitcase. Cases with children always struck a chord with Morgan. He always felt sick and heartbroken after cases that involved children, which made sleep hard for him to get. Usually, if he did happen to fall asleep, he'd have nightmares. It wasn't very often he'd get sleep without nightmares, anymore. They came with the job. 

Reid couldn't sleep, either. He felt guilty. He was the one that decided they should ask the guy, who turned out to be a friend, what he knew about their unsub. He was the reason Marcie was dead. He was the reason that the parents no longer had a child. He was the reason that the parents were bound to divorce, the grief would overtake them. He felt responsible, even though there was no way he could have known. 

It was two am by the time Derek and Spencer talked. Derek usually didn't like to talk about cases with anyone, but Spencer was on his team. He understood the pain and the terror that their cases brought on. Derek had spent the time they'd been there sitting by the television, watching the news. He wanted to see what they said about the case they'd just finished, but he turned it off as soon as he saw Marcie's picture. He couldn't handle it yet. He sat down on Spencer's bed, his usual goofy behavior long gone. Spencer set the book he was reading down on the bedside table, turning his attention to the man next to him. "I let her die," was the first thing the young doctor said.

Derek was having none of Spencer's 'this is my fault' bullshit. He didn't even hesitate before lecturing the, usually brilliant, man. "Did you kidnap her? Or the other kids? No, you didn't. Don't start with the self-pity. You know you didn't do that. You know she wouldn't have made it even if we had found her alive. Don't you start taking responsibility for what a psychopath did." Spencer eventually calmed back down. They both gave up fighting sleep after a few more hours. Morgan fell asleep in Reid's bed, the two of them cuddled close together. Derek was the first to wake, and he was a little shaken up because of the sleeping arrangement. He didn't have a nightmare that night, and he'd never slept as well when he was at home with Savannah. He never had those kind of conversations with Sav, either. 

It wasn't long until one of the two would sneak off to the other's room in the middle of the night when they'd stay in hotels. They'd wake up early, and one of them would go back to their own rooms. It became the norm with them. Sleeping in the same bed helped to, mostly, keep out the worst of the nightmares and it calmed them both down. When he'd go home to his girlfriend, he'd find he couldn't sleep. The nightmares would be twice as bad when he did fall asleep. Spencer was his dream catcher. Savannah noticed how different Derek acted, and how tired he always seemed the next morning. She began to get worried, so she asked him about it. Derek said he was fine and would blame it on a recent case. At first, she believed it. Then, the excuse began to get tiring. He stopped sleeping in bed with her, and spent his nights on the couch. He hardly talked to her after he started sleeping on the couch. He'd go into work early and come home late just to avoid talking to her. She got tired of that and wrote him a note. She could never get a hold of him, so the note was the best she could do. She explained that she couldn't date him since he didn't talk to her or seem to want to be near her anymore. She apologized and wished him the best.

It hurt, just a little, to be dumped. It'd been coming for long time, but it still came as a bit of a shock. Luckily, he didn't have much time to waste over it since they had another case. Back to spending his nights with Reid. He wasn't sure if he was misreading the intentions of Spencer, but he wasn't so sure that their sleeping situation was purely for comfort. Sometimes he'd wake up with pale arms wrapped tightly around him, or a head against his chest. At first he thought it was accidental, but after a few times, he wasn't so sure.

Derek didn't tell anyone about the break up. It would have caused too many questions. The first night on the case, Derek held Spencer especially close. The doctor had no arguments as curled up and fell asleep. It was a little awkward in the morning, since they'd never actually fallen asleep cuddling. They got over it soon enough, and waited around together for the rest of the team to wake up or for something to happen with the case. While they waited, they sat on the bed together, asking each other things. Derek asked about Spencer's relationship status (single) and then the genius asked about his relationship with Sav. He couldn't lie, so he told him the truth. Spencer apologized, but the conversation ended awkwardly. Luckily, they were both called to meet at the local sheriff's office. 

In the end, they saved three victims. The unsub was abducting men from the streets to watch them fight. It was promised that, if they won enough, they'd be set free. One had been lost just before they'd gotten there. Two of the men were getting ready to fight when Morgan busted down the door. Only one victim was physically hurt. His wrist and a few ribs were broken from the previous fight. On the plane ride home, once everyone was asleep or had headphones on, Morgan and Reid talked more. Spencer asked if he was okay after the break up. Derek explained how it was unavoidable, and that he pretty much forced it. 

By the time they got home, they were exhausted from the day's events. Derek invited Spencer to stay the night, and they fell asleep in his bed. Home was better when his best friend was there with him. Spencer woke up first, and made them breakfast. They drove to work in separate cars, going inside together. It was a relaxed day at the office; all they had to do was paperwork. Derek finished his second, after Reid. Reid helped JJ with hers since she had a bit more than the others. Derek spent his time with Garcia. He needed her advice on how to handle the whole thing with Spencer, and what it all meant. He started out by telling her how it first happened, and about the break up. Penelope had talked to Spencer earlier that day, so she already had the answers. "First of all, he's totally into you. Second of all, shame on you for pushing Savannah away. Third of all, thank God something is finally happening between you two! He's been giving you heart eyes since he started working here!" Derek laughed and hugged her before going back out to find Reid, who had already finished his half of JJ's stack of work. 

The two worked on looking over past case files. As Reid quickly flipped through the pages, Morgan was going slower. It was mainly because Spencer read a lot more words per minute, but also because Derek was busy thinking. Suddenly, Derek set down his file and turned to Spencer. "How about dinner tonight? I'll cook."

The rest of the day was just subtle touching and smiles, until they went on their separate ways. At eight pm, Derek let Spencer inside for dinner. They ate in silence, mainly. A few comments every now and then. It was a little awkward between them, since it was their first official date. Afterwards, everything went the same way as it normally did. They talked, about them as a couple this time, before falling asleep together.

It became a normal thing with them. The two would go out, or order in, dinner and then watch a movie or waste time in some other way before going to bed. It was only once or twice a week, but it was always a nice break away from the horrors of their jobs. Plus, if they had to stay in a hotel, they got to spend those nights together, too. It wasn't long after they started dating that the other noticed that the two had started acting different around each other. Everyone was supportive, and some were glad that they finally got together after dealing with the awkward sexual tension between them.

It was funny how fast things moved in relationships. After just a short time, Morgan was already thinking about marrying Reid. It had been less than a year, but Derek was happier in that short time with Spencer than he ever was with Savannah.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure if I really like this since there's no plot, but I spent all day writing it so there's no point not posting. Thanks for any kudos/comments.


End file.
